Netsuke. The Trumpf Collection. Volume 1 + 2 (in a beautiful slip case)

Volume 1:  288 pages, 325 illustrations.
Volume 2:  416 pages, 900 illustrations in colour and 342 signatures.

The Japanese belt accessories for men known as netsuke aroused great interest in Europe already at the end of the 19th century. Today they have become special, highly-prized collector’s items all over the world.

The main subjects are mythical creatures, gods of popular religion, and exotic animals and also depictions of Europeans, particularly Dutchmen, who fascinated the Japanese in the 18th and 19th century. The craftsmanship is of incomparable perfection, and the materials include boxwood, ivory, horn, coral, tortoise-shell and much else. Famous artists like Yoshimura Shûzan (1700–1773) and Ohara Mitsuhiro (1810–1878) created masterpieces which strongly influenced this art form.

The two volumes present more than 850 objects from the collection of Anne and Christian Trumpf, one of the most important netsuke collections worldwide, with in-depth commentary and lavish illustrations. The author, Dr. Patrizia Jirka-Schmitz, is a well-known scholar in this field. A new standard work on netsuke – an area of collecting that over the last few years has grown immensely on an international scale.